Carbon-carbon composite brake discs are used in many high performance braking applications, such as brake systems for aircraft. In some examples, carbon-carbon composite brake discs may be formed by first forming a brake disc preform from a carbon fiber precursor material, such as polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The brake disc preform can be formed by needling sheets of nonwoven PAN fibers together. The brake disc preform may then be carbonized to form a carbon fiber preform by heating the brake disc preform at a relatively high temperature.